PRESS RELEASE: December 2008
U.S. Drinks Conference a Success
Conference organizer Brand Action Team held the U.S. Drinks Conference 2008 in London recently.
“This was the second year that we’ve put on the event in London, and this year we had a larger number of delegates from even more countries,” said Steve Raye of Brand Action Team. “The feedback we’ve gotten from attendees was overwhelmingly positive with frequent comments on the level of insight provided and comprehensiveness content.”
The roster of speakers this year included some of the top executives in the American drinks market including Rudy Ruiz, EVP of Southern Wine & Spirits; John McDonnell, COO of Patrón Spirits; Bill Earle, president of the National Association of Beverage Importers; and conference co-organizer John Beaudette, president of MHW Ltd. The subject matter included case histories and lessons learned by brands that have been successful in the United States and a wealth of data on the American market structure.
Jeff Grindrod, managing partner at Brand Action Team, and Mike Ginley, president of Next Level presented results of “hot off the presses” research on consumer trends and preferences.
Several themes recurred through the conference, including the impact of the global financial crisis on the drinks industry, aligning distributor and supplier expectations, and the shift in marketing strategies toward more online and non-traditional spending.
“The economic crisis we’re going through is certainly having an impact on the business, but the research results clearly demonstrated that the U.S. beverage alcohol industry is recession-resilient,” Ginley said. Grindrod added, “We see continued growth in volume and revenue, albeit slowing, and a shift in consumption from on-premise to off-premise. Perhaps the most interesting thing we found is that for those people going out to restaurants, the last thing they tend to cut out is the cocktail, wine or beer part of the meal.”